Post-Listing Update: Despite 18 bids on eBay, this Norton Commando VR880 did not meet reserve at $15,100. Kenny Dreer, the man who almost brought Norton back from the grave several years ago, got his start restoring motorcycles from the British marque at his shop called Vintage Rebuilds (VR) near Portland, Oregon. As the 1990s came to an end, he started …
2011 Bennche Megelli 250R
Reader Zack B comes through with another bike I never heard of – the Bennche Megelli 250R. Based on the name, you’d be excused for thinking this comes from Italy, but it’s actually an American ATV and UTV company that dabbled importing a Chinese-made motorcycle. While Bennche is a firm based out of Dallas, Texas, Megelli is a UK company …
Ex-Military – 1957 Harley-Davidson Sportster XLA
Post-Listing Update: This XLA did not sell at the BIN price of $42,500. Harley produced thousands of WLA models for the US Government in WWII, but it wasn’t until ’57 that the feds would tap Harley again. This time, they wanted a patrol bike, and the company responded with the Harley-Davidson Sportster XLA. Just 418 were ever built, and Harley …
Zero Miles – 1994 Harley-Davidson VR1000
It’s July 4th, which means that today at Bike-urious, I’m featuring 3 very different (but All-American) interesting motorcycles. This might be the most special of them all, though it’s going to take a lot of US currency to put it in your garage. Back in 1988, Harley decided to try their hand at knocking off Ducati from their perch atop …
Best I’ve Seen – 1972 Chaparral Bullet ST80
Post-Sale Update: This Chaparral Bullet ST80 sold for an unknown best offer under $4,000. In the 70s, snowmobile manufacturer Chaparral saw how popular dirt bikes were becoming, and wanted to get in on the craze. They did so with a lineup of 3 small (and apparently mediocre) mini-cycles that were deemed “Familyweight”. This was the Bullet ST80 (apparently the top …
Number One – 1997 Harley-Davidson MT500
This Harley-Davidson MT500 is one of the rarest bikes to ever come out of the Harley-Davidson factory, and I’m a huge sucker for it at Bike-urious. Originally built by the British in the 80s, rights to this bike were sold by Armstrong-CCM to Harley-Davidson, who sold just 355 copies of the MT500 in 1999, and a few more the following …
1930 Indian Aristocrat Model 402
One of the best looking inline-4’s of all time, the Indian Model 402 was known as the “Aristocrat” due to its high level of sophistication at a time where most motorcycle buyers were looking for the cheapest options. Priced at a whopping $485 at the time, it is now a true collectible.
Instant Sportbike Collection
Here’s an interesting listing – someone is selling off 8 bikes, most of which are Ducati and Suzuki sportbikes (with a BMW HP4 thrown in for good measure!) Currently available: 1. BMW HP4 2. HD Street Glide 3. Ducati 1198 S 4. Ducati 996 S 5. Ducati GT1000S 6. Suzuki TL1000R 7. Suzuki TL1000S 8. Honda Ruckus The bikes are …
1949 Harley-Davidson Panhead
Some of you may be familiar with Gas Monkey Garage of Discovery’s “Fast N’ Loud.” If not, the Dallas, Texas based company masterminded by Richard Rawlings typically works on cars but has cranked out some interesting bikes in the past. Here’s one of those bikes – a HD Panhead that was originally built by Wink Eller, a land speed record …
Ending Soon – 1987 Harley-Davidson XRV1200
Post-Listing Update: This Harley-Davidson XRV1200 did not meet reserve at $4,250. You might have read the title to this post and thought, “what the hell is an XRV?” Back in 1989, it’s what Cycle World thought Harley should be offering straight from the floor. Long story short, there was a time when you could buy a Sportster 883 from the …
Original Owner Racer – 1970 Harley-Davidson XR750
The XR750 is an absolute legend, and here we’ve got quite an example. 200 were built – half of which were offered to the public and privateer efforts. This bike is #184/200 and is still with the original owner, who raced it back in the early 70s nd then put it away. It’s been completely restored and repainted (though the …
1986 Buell RR1000 Prototype
Fans of Buell are very familiar with the company’s tumultous history, which thankfully has ended up with EBR and some very cool bikes like the 1190RS. But the story all begins with American engineer Erik Buell and this very prototype – the bike that truly launched Erik’s career. It’s rare, it’s pricey, and it’s damn cool. Find this Buell RR1000 …
2007 Harley-Davidson Sportster Custom
6-1 Update: Though the bike was originally “sold” for $19,300, this Harley-Davidson Sportster Custom is back up for sale with bidding up to $8,600 here on eBay. For a while, Bull Motorcycles have been making custom Harleys like the Zephyr, recently featured on BikeEXIF. Another one of their creations, based on a 2007 Nightster with 5,000 miles on the odometer, …
1968 Harley-Davidson Sportster XLCH
The Harley-Davidson Sportster XLCH was one of the classic HD’s featuring the usual V-Twin powerplant. The original MSRP was around $1,600, it weighed 452 pounds, and Harley overstated engine displacement to make the bike seem more powerful than it was.
OEM Plus – Buell 1125CR Custom
What originally started as a Buell 1125CR has now been turned into a custom sport-tourer thanks to plenty of newer OEM Buell parts. This kind of “OEM+” upgrading tickles my fancy – it’s what my friends and I used to do with 90s Honda’s – though I can’t say our end results were as fast as this bumblebee of a …